Principality of Amidonia
The Principality of Amidonia was a nation situated in eastern Landia before being annexed by the Elfrieden Kingdom to form the United Kingdom of Elfrieden & Amidonia, more commonly known as the Kingdom of Freidonia. Before its annexation the principality was a militarist feudal dictatorship under the Amidonian royal family, who extensively used anti-Elfrieden propaganda to build support for excessive military spending . Its capital city was Van. Its previous ruler was Gaius Amidonia, and for a brief period later, his son Julius Amidonia. Locations * Van (capital city) * Nelva * Ursula Mountains History Amidonia was described as a small, mountainous country with its main source of income from its mining industry. Due to a war with Elfrieden Kingdom 50 years prior to signing the Mankind Declaration Treaty, Amidonia lost half of its original territory, including its valuable farming lands. As a result, the country was in a constant state of food shortages. This problem was compounded by the fact that the ruler followed a 'military first' policy and spent all available funds on strengthening the army, rather than on food, the economy, and infrastructure. Its only protection was the Mankind Declaration Treaty, which prevented the other countries from invading it. With the rebellion of Georg Carmine and Castor Vargas, Gaius thought it was an excellent opportunity to invade Elfrieden and take back the lands that formerly belonged to Amidonia. This proved to be a grave error in judgement, as that action left the majority of Amidonia defenseless. The 30,000 soldiers were stalled at Altomura and the Amidonia's capital Van was invaded and captured by Elfrieden. The entire invasion itself was doomed to failure as the Amidonian forces would not be able to hold any captured territory for very long, and this was part of a ploy to destroy Amidonia's ability to wage war. Gaius also feared that once the Gran Chaos Empire was brought in to negotiate the return of Van, the Empire might look down on Amidonia for its actions, and turn it into a puppet state. With Gaius being killed during the war and his son unable to govern the country effectively, the entire principality became wracked with numerous riots and rebellions. With the revolt of the people of Van and the re-occupation of the city by Elfrieden, Julius was forced into exile. Following his exile, the country was invaded by the Republic of Turgis and the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria, though both these forces later withdrew. With the Gran Chaos Empire unable to react due to the flaw in the Mankind Declaration Treaty, the Principality of Amidonia was annexed and merged with the Elfrieden Kingdom, becoming the Kingdom of Friedonia, in order to keep it safe from the invaders. Politics Prior to its annexation, the government was seen as a feudal dictatorship with a 'military-first' attitude. After losing half of its lands to Elfrieden in the prior war, Amidonia was too small to be seen as a kingdom and was ruled by a prince, rather than a king. All forms of entertainment, fashion or even basic freedoms were highly restricted or nonexistent as they are considered as the ideals of weaklings and loose morality. All funds were either used to strengthen the military or for propaganda against Elfrieden. The nobles and populace were controlled through fear, intimidation and a constant indoctrination of hatred toward Elfrieden for over three generations. Since Amidonia had a smaller army than its rival Elfrieden, Gaius had used the protection of the Mankind Declaration Treaty to keep other nations such as the Republic of Turgis and the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria from invading. He had built up the military to intimidate Elfrieden, during the reign of the indecisive King Albert Elfrieden and kept a contract with the Mercenary State Zem. After the One Week War, Julius was unable to maintain the status quo and the government of Amidonia eventually collapsed after the country was absorbed by Elfrieden. Another point about the government of Amidonia prior to its collapse, is the fact that it had been involved in some clandestine and shady dealings with several of the nobles of Elfrieden. Since the defeat of the war 50 years ago, Amidonia had been secretly bribing and inciting many Elfrieden nobles towards corruption and rebellion. This went on during the reign of King Albert Elfrieden, thereby further weakening the kingdom's economy and infrastructure. It was only discovered by Kazuya Souma during his reforms. This chicanery was rooted out, causing many corrupt nobles to flee and seek refuge in the Carmine Duchy, only to be betrayed by Georg Carmine, who purposely lost the One Week War. The last of the corrupt Elfrieden nobles were executed during the trial of Castor Vargas and his daughter Carla. During the negotiations to return Van to the principality, Elfrieden's Prime Minister Hakuya Kwonmin provided indisputable evidence of Amidona's collaboration with those corrupt nobles, thereby defaming the honor of the Amidonian royal family even further. Economy After losing its farm lands to Elfrieden, the main source of income came from its mineral deposits and mining industry. Food was imported and was deemed as expensive. As a result, the country was in constant food shortage. Other industries such as textiles and manufactured goods had little to no chance of thriving. It was only due to the efforts of Princess Roroa Amidonia, that the overall economy had not collapsed prior to the One Week War. It is noted that the southern region of Amidonia did have a small economy in manufacturing wool products such as carpets. Ironically, Roroa would hide in one of these carpets when her grandfather Herman Neumann presented her as a bride to Kazuya. Another point is that due to its mines, Amidonia still traded with Elfrieden for metal products, though Kazuya Souma worked to lessen Elfrieden's dependence on Amidonia. After the One Week War, Amidonia would be forced to pay massive war reparations equal to 20% of its yearly income, over the course of 10 years. This was to prevent the nation from rebuilding its military and attacking again. This debt was wiped out after the country was annexed and Roroa Amidonia became the 3rd Primary Queen Consort to Kazuya. As they were now part of the unified kingdom of Freidonia, the former citizens of Amidonia are experiencing an improved economy and standard of living. Military As a militaristic nation Amidonia gave priority to the military. However due to being a smaller nation the total military strength of Amidonia was only around 50,000 and only had 500 wyvern riders. As a result of the disastrous One Week War, Amidonia lost much of its manpower through battlefield casualties and desertions. The remnants of the Amidonian military were absorbed into Freidonia's National Defense Force after the unification of Amidonia and Elfrieden. National Anthem The National Anthem of Amidonia is "Through the Valley of Goldoa" ( ゴルドアの谷を越えて ). |-|English (Translated) = In the land beyond the mountains, where Ursula will be born tomorrow, ♪ Is the land that birthed our forefathers, the land to which we will return. ♪ Press on, O horses, climbing over the hill of our fallen comrades. ♪ Press on, O brave warriors, to become the earth of the land beyond. ♪ |-|Kanji = 朝日生まれるウルスラの　山の向こうに広がるは ♪ 我らが父祖が生まれし地　我らがいずれ還かえる場所 ♪ 進め軍馬よ同胞の 屍しかばねの丘を乗り越えて ♪ 進め勇士よゴルドアの　向こうの土となるために ♪ Known Citizens * Gaius Amidonia (Supreme Commander/Sovereign Prince - deceased) * Julius Amidonia (Supreme Commander/Crown Prince - exiled) * Roroa Amidonia (Crown Princess) * Margarita Wonder (Female General of Van's garrison) * Herman Neumann (General of Nelva's garrison) * Gatsby Colbert (Minister of Finance) * Sebastian Silverdeer (Proprietor of "The Silver Deer") Category:Locations